ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� Comedians Eric Andr茅 and Clayton English have reached a settlement in a challenging a police program at the Atlanta airport that they said used racial profiling and coercive searches just as airline passengers, particularly Black passengers, were about to board their flights.
The lawsuit, originally filed in October 2022, alleged that the two men were racially profiled and illegally stopped by Clayton County police at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The settlement agreement, announced Tuesday by the pair’s lawyers, does not include an admission of fault or liability but says the county has ended the program at issue and has no intention of reactivating it.
Both men said officers at the airport singled them out because they were Black and grilled them about drugs while other passengers watched during separate stops about six months apart. In an interview when the lawsuit was filed, Andr茅 called the experience 鈥渄ehumanizing and demoralizing.鈥�
The stated purpose of the program was to fight drug trafficking, but the lawsuit said drugs are rarely found, criminal charges seldom result, and seized cash provides a financial windfall for the police department.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a major victory that Clayton County has confirmed that it has ended this program and is now taking steps to prevent this type of abuse from happening in the future,鈥� Andr茅 said in a press release.
鈥淲hat happened to me was wrong, and I wasn鈥檛 willing to let it happen to other people,鈥� English said in the release.
鈥淎s reflected in the settlement agreement between the parties, there has been no admission of any fact or liability whatsoever relating to the incident involving the plaintiffs,鈥� county spokesperson Valerie Fuller said in an email. 鈥淗owever, all have agreed that it is in everyone鈥檚 interests to resolve this matter to end litigation and move forward.鈥�
The county Board of Commissioners authorized a payment of $30,000, with half going to each comedian, as part of the settlement, according to minutes from the board’s Aug. 4 meeting.
The county also agreed to require police officers assigned to the airport to use body-worn cameras and to undergo training on constitutional limits regarding police encounters at airports, the settlement says.
Police records cited in the lawsuit showed that from Aug. 30, 2020, to April 30, 2021, there were 402 jet bridge stops, and the passenger鈥檚 race was listed for 378 of those stops. Of those 378 passengers, 211, or 56%, were Black, and people of color accounted for 258 total stops, or 68%, the lawsuit said.
Those 402 stops resulted in three reported drug seizures: about 10 grams of drugs from one passenger, 26 grams of 鈥渟uspected THC gummies鈥� from another, and six prescription pills without a prescription from a third, the lawsuit said. Only the first and third person were charged.
Those 402 stops also yielded more than $1 million in cash and money orders from a total of 25 passengers. All but one were allowed to continue their travels, and only two 鈥� the ones who also had drugs 鈥� were charged, the lawsuit said. Eight of the 25 challenged the seizures, and Clayton County police settled each case, returning much of the seized money, the lawsuit said.
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